JP2006516409A - High affinity anti-human IgE antibody - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to high-affinity human monoclonal antibodies, and in particular to antibodies made against determinants of immunoglobulin E (IgE) isotypes, and the direct equivalents and derivatives of these antibodies. These antibodies bind to their respective targets with an affinity that is at least 100 times stronger than the original parent antibody. These antibodies are useful for disease diagnosis, prevention and treatment.

Description

  Allergy is a hypersensitive condition caused by an excessive immune response to foreign factors such as allergens. Immediate (type 1) hypersensitivity reactions characterized by allergic reactions that occur immediately after contact with allergens are mediated by B cells and are based on antigen-antibody reactions. Delayed type hypersensitivity is mediated by T cells and is based on the mechanism of cellular immunity. In recent years, the term “allergy” is increasingly used synonymously with type 1 hypersensitivity reactions.

Immediate hypersensitivity reactions are reactions based on the production of immunoglobulin class E antibodies (IgE antibodies) by B cells that differentiate into plasma cells that secrete antibodies when exposed to allergens. An IgE-induced reaction is a local phenomenon that occurs at the site where allergen has entered the body, i.e., at the surface of the mucosa and / or at local lymph nodes. Locally produced IgE initially sensitizes local mast cells, that is, IgE antibodies bind to Fcε receptors in their constant region on the surface of the mast cells, and then “overflowed” IgE enters the circulation. It binds to receptors on both systemic circulating basophils and on mast cells anchored to tissues. When the bound IgE is subsequently contacted with the allergen, the Fcε receptor is cross-linked by allergen binding, causing the cell to degranulate and release many hypersensitivity mediators such as histamine, prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and the like. Release of these substances is a clinical manifestation typical of immediate hypersensitivity reactions, ie, contraction of smooth muscle in the respiratory tract or intestine, dilation of small blood vessels and increased permeability to water and plasma proteins such as allergic rhinitis, atopic eczema And the secretion of mucus, which causes irritation of nerve endings in the skin that causes asthma and itching and pain. In addition, allergens form a “memory pool” of surface IgE-positive B cells (slgE ⁺ B cells) by expressing IgE on the cell surface after first contacting allergens with some B cells The reaction when in contact for the second time is intensified.

  There are two main receptors for IgE, the high affinity receptor FcεRI and the low affinity receptor FcεRII. FcεRI is mainly expressed on the surface of mast cells and basophils, but low level expression of FcεRI is also found on human Langerhans cells, dendritic cells, and monocytes, where it is an IgE-mediated allergen Is functioning in the presentation. Furthermore, FcεRI has also been reported on human eosinophils and platelets (Hasegawa, S. et. Al., Hematopoiesis, 1999, 93: 2543-2551). FcεRI is not found on the surface of B cells, T cells, or neutrophils. Expression of FcεRI on Langerhans cells and cutaneous dendritic cells is functionally and biologically important for presentation of IgE-bound antigen in allergic patients (Klubal R. et al, J. Invest. Dermatol. 1997, 108 (3): 336-42).

  The low affinity receptor FcεRII (CD23) is a lectin-like molecule comprising three identical subunits with a head structure extending from the coiled axis of a long α-helical structure from the plasma membrane of the cell ( Dierks, AE et al., J. Immunol. 1993, 150: 2372-2382). When bound to IgE, FcεRII associates with CD21 on B cells involved in the regulation of IgE synthesis (Sanon, A. et al., J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 1990, 86: 333-344, Bonnefoy, J et al., Eur. Resp. J. 1996, 9: 63s-66s). FcεRII has long been recognized for allergen presentation (Sutton and Gould, 1993, Nature, 366: 421-428). IgE bound to FcεRII on epithelial cells is responsible for specific and rapid allergen presentation (Yang, P.P., J. Clin. Invest., 2000, 106: 879-886). FcεRII is present on several cell types including B cells, eosinophils, platelets, natural killer cells, T cells, follicular dendritic cells and Langerhans cells.

  Structural components on the IgE molecule that interact with FcεRI and FcεRII were also identified. Mutagenesis studies have shown that FcεRI (Presta et al., J. Biol. Chem. 1994, 269: 26368-26373; Henry AJ et al., Biochemistry, 1997, 36: 15568-15578) and FcεRII ( Sutton and Gould, Nature, 1993, 366: 421428; Shi, J. et al., Biochemistry, 1997, 36: 2112-2122) have been shown to mediate interactions with both. Binding sites for both high and low affinity receptors are located symmetrically along the central rotational axis spanning the two CH3 domains. The FcεRI binding site is located on the outward side of the CH3 domain near the junction of the CH2 domain, while the FcεRII binding site is on the carboxy terminus of CH3.

A promising concept for the treatment of allergies involves the application of monoclonal antibodies that are specific for the IgE isotype and can therefore bind to IgE. This method is based on inhibiting the allergic reaction by down-regulating the IgE immune response that is the earliest phenomenon in the induction of allergy and maintains the allergic state. Since the response of other classes of antibodies is unaffected, effects on both immediate and long-lasting allergic symptoms are achieved. Early studies on human basophil density showed a correlation between IgE levels in patient plasma and the number of FcεRI receptors per basophil (Malveaux et al., J. Clin. Invest., 1978, 62: 176). According to it, FcεRI density in allergic and non-allergic people ranges from 10 ⁴ to 10 ⁶ per basophil. The use of anti-IgE to treat allergic diseases has since been shown to reduce circulating IgE levels to 1% of pre-treatment levels (MacGlashan et al., J. Immunol., 1997, 158: 14381445). . MacGlashan analyzed sera obtained from patients treated with total anti-IgE antibodies that bind free IgE circulating in the patient's serum. They reported that reducing the level of circulating IgE in patients can reduce the number of receptors present on the surface of basophils. Therefore, they hypothesized that the FcεRI density on the surface of basophils and mast cells is regulated directly or indirectly by the level of circulating IgE antibodies.

  More recently, WO 99/62550 disclosed the use of IgE molecules and fragments that bind to FcεRI and FcεRII binding sites and block IgE binding to the receptor. However, effective therapies without harmful side effects for the management of these allergic diseases are limited. One approach to the treatment of allergic diseases involves the use of humanized anti-IgE antibodies to treat allergic rhinitis and asthma (Corne, J. et al., J. Clin. Invest. 1997, 99: 879-887; Racine-Poon, A. et al., Clin. Pharmcol. Ther. 1997, 62: 675-690; Fahy, JV et al., Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. 1997, -155: 1824-1834; Boulet, LP et al., Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med., 1997, 155: 1835-1840; Milgrom, E. et al., N. Engi. J. Med. 1999, 341: 1966-1973). These clinical data indicate that inhibiting the binding of IgE to the receptor is effective as a method for treating allergic diseases.

Antibodies suitable as antiallergic reagents are those that react with surface IgE positive B cells that differentiate into IgE producing plasma cells and can be used to functionally remove such B cells. However, antibodies against IgE also in principle induce mediator release from IgE-sensitized mast cells by cross-linking to the Fcε receptor and antagonize the beneficial effects on serum IgE and slgE ⁺ B cell levels It will be. Therefore, an antibody applicable to the treatment of allergy must be one that does not react with IgE bound on sensitized mast cells and basophils, but retains the ability to recognize slgE ⁺ B cells.

  Such IgE isotype-specific antibodies are described in Chang et al. (Biotechnology 8, 122-126 (1990)), European Patent No. EP0407392, and several US patents such as, for example, US Pat. No. 5,449,760. Has been. However, since the disclosed antibody is not of human origin, it has immunogenicity as a foreign protein and is not very suitable for human application. This weakness can be potentially reduced, for example, by converting a rodent anti-IgE monoclonal antibody into a chimeric antibody that combines a variable region of a rodent antibody and a constant region of a human antibody. This method preserves the antigen binding site of rodent parental anti-IgE antibodies while conferring human isotype and effector functions. The immunogenicity of a chimeric antibody is determined by transplanting a hypervariable region, also called a rodent complementarity determining region (CDR), into the framework of human light and heavy chain variable regions to reconstitute the human antibody. It can be further reduced. The technique involves replacing or recombinantly transplanting antigen-specific rodent CDR sequences with sequences present in “generic” human heavy and light chain variable regions (US Pat. No. 6,180,370). ).

Natural intact immunoglobulins or antibodies include a generally Y-shaped tetrameric molecule having a target binding site at the end of each upper arm. The target binding site consists of a heavy chain variable region to which a light chain variable region is bound. More specifically, the target binding site of an antibody consists essentially of the three complementarity-determining regions (“CDR”) of the variable region of the heavy chain (V _H ) and the three variable regions of the light chain (V _L ). Formed by CDR. In both the V _L and V _H chains, the CDRs alternate with four framework regions (FR) in the general formula
(i) FR1-CDR1-FR2-CDR2-FR3-CDR3-FR4 (I)
The polypeptide chain is described as starting from the N-terminus and ending at the C-terminus. The CDRs of the _VH and _VL chains are also referred to as H1, H2, H3 and L1, L2, L3, respectively. The determination of what constitutes FR or CDR is usually made by comparing the amino acid sequences of a number of antibodies made within the same species, and the general rules for identification are known in the art ("Sequences of proteins of immunological interest", Kabat EA et al., US department of health and human service, Public health service, National Institute of Health).

  The contribution of the binding by the light chain variable region to the energy balance is small compared to the contribution by the bound heavy chain variable region, and the identified heavy chain variable region has an intrinsic antigen binding activity. Such molecules are commonly referred to as single domain antibodies (Ward, ES et al., Nature 341, 544-546 (1989)).

  CDRs form loops that bind to the β-sheet framework within that region. The relationship between amino acid sequence and loop structure can be described by a canonical structure model (Chothia et al., Nature 342, 887-883 (1989)). According to this model, antibodies have only a limited backbone conformation or “canonical structure” for each hypervariable region. The conformation is determined by the presence of a small number of key amino acid residues at specific sites in the CDRs and, for certain loops, in the framework regions. Hypervariable regions that adopt the same conformation in different immunoglobulins have the same or very similar amino acid residues at these sites.

  CDR grafting is performed on monoclonal antibodies, resulting in humanized human antibodies with significantly lower binding affinity than rodent CDR donor antibodies. In some instances, it has been found that in addition to CDR transfer, changes within the framework of the human sequence are required to obtain satisfactory antigen binding activity in CDR graft products.

  Queen et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86, 10029-10033 (1989)) disclosed that CDRs from mouse anti-Tac monoclonal antibodies can be transplanted into the human framework. The human framework was selected to maximize homology with the mouse sequence. The authors used a computer model of the mouse parent antibody to identify amino acid residues in the FR that are close enough to interact with CDRs or antigens. These residues were mutated to residues found in the mouse sequence. The affinity of the humanized anti-Tac antibody is only about 1/3 that of the mouse anti-Tac antibody, and it has been a problem to maintain the human characteristics of this antibody.

  Higher for the treatment of diseases with very high levels of IgE, to reduce the risk of immunogenicity and to extend clinical application to diseases with very high levels of IgE, for example atopic dermatitis An antibody with affinity may be required. Therefore, it is desirable to obtain an anti-IgE antibody with a high level of humanization and a very high affinity for IgE. The antibodies of the present invention are anti-human IgE antibodies that have a very high affinity and homology with a very high human sequence and have a low risk of immunogenicity.

  Thus, humanized antibodies with higher affinity that can reduce the amount of antibody needed to treat the disease, thereby reducing potential side effects and cost to the patient due to the immunogenicity of the drug Is needed. Furthermore, the present invention improves the probability of identifying high affinity antibodies.

  The present invention relates to high affinity antibodies made from a parent antibody, and particularly to anti-IgE antibodies with very high affinity. These high affinity antibodies have increased affinity in the range of about 100-fold to about 5000-fold, and bind to the target epitope with a binding affinity that is at least 20 times stronger than the original parent antibody.

  The present invention also provides a high-affinity antibody as described above from a parent antibody that combines humanization of non-human antibodies and affinity maturation as a rapid and efficient method of significantly increasing binding affinity over other methods. It relates to a manufacturing method. This method modifies the CDR and framework regions of a parent antibody molecule simultaneously or sequentially by creating a library of randomly substituted CDRs and / or framework regions and screening for high affinity molecules. Including that.

  One embodiment of the present invention is

Definitions The terms used herein are to be construed in the general and typical sense used by those skilled in the art. However, applicants wish to give the following special definitions for the following words:

  For a given antibody chain polypeptide sequence, the phrase “substantially identical” can be interpreted as an antibody chain that exhibits at least 70%, or 80%, or 90%, or 95% sequence identity with the reference polypeptide sequence. . The phrase for a nucleic acid sequence can be interpreted as a nucleotide sequence that exhibits at least about 85%, or 90%, or 95%, or 97% sequence identity with a reference nucleic acid sequence.

  The terms “identity” or “homology” refer to the percentage of amino acid sequences that are identical to the residues of the corresponding sequence to be compared in the candidate sequence, and the comparison of the two may be compared with the candidate sequence as necessary. Performed after aligning with the corresponding sequence and inserting gaps, obtained as the maximum percent identity over the complete sequence, and no conservative substitutions shall be considered as part of the sequence identity. Extension or addition at the N-terminus or C-terminus shall not reduce identity or homology. Methods and computer programs for alignment are well known in the art. Sequence identity can be measured using sequence analysis software.

The term “antibody” is used in its broadest sense and specifically includes monoclonal antibodies (including full-length monoclonal antibodies), polyclonal antibodies, and multispecific antibodies (eg, bispecific antibodies). Antibodies (Abs) and immunoglobulins (Igs) are glycoproteins with similar structural characteristics. While antibodies exhibit binding specificity for a particular target, immunoglobulins include both antibodies and other antibody-like molecules that lack target specificity. Native antibodies and immunoglobulins are usually heterotetrameric glycoproteins of about 150,000 daltons, consisting of two identical light (L) chains and two identical heavy (H) chains. Each heavy chain has a variable region (V _H ) with multiple constant regions linked at one end. Each light chain has a variable region (V _L ) at one end and a constant region at the other end.

  As used herein, “anti-human IgE antibody” means an antibody that binds to human IgE so that the binding of IgE to the high affinity receptor FcεRI can be inhibited or substantially reduced.

  The term “variable” in the context of the variable region of an antibody means that a certain part of the variable region is greatly different in sequence between antibodies and each specific antibody exerts binding and specificity for a specific target. Say the fact that it is used for. However, variability is not evenly distributed across the variable region of an antibody. Variability is concentrated in three segments called complementarity determining regions (CDRs), also known as hypervariable regions, in both light and heavy chain variable regions. The more highly conserved portions of the variable region are called the framework (FR). The native heavy and light chain variable regions each contain four FR regions, which mainly form a β-sheet configuration and are linked by three CDRs, which have a β-sheet structure. Connect to form a loop that, in some cases, forms part of the structure. The CDRs in each chain are arranged closer to each other in the FR region and contribute to the formation of the target binding site of the antibody together with the CDRs of other chains (see Kabat et al.). As used herein, immunoglobulin amino acid residue numbering is the immunoglobulin amino acid residue numbering system of Kabat et al. (Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, Md. 1987) unless otherwise noted. It will be done based on.

The term “antibody fragment” refers to a portion of a full length antibody, generally a target binding or variable region portion. Examples of antibody fragments include Fab, Fab ′, F (ab ′) ₂ and Fv fragments. The phrase “functional fragment or analog” of an antibody refers to a compound that has qualitative biological activity in common with a full-length antibody. For example, a functional fragment or analog of an anti-IgE antibody can prevent or substantially reduce the ability of such a molecule to bind to the high affinity receptor FcεRI. Can be combined. The “functional fragment” used herein for an antibody refers to Fv, F (ab) and F (ab ′) ₂ fragments. An “Fv” fragment is the smallest antibody fragment that contains a complete target recognition and binding site. This region consists of a dimer (V _H -V _L dimer) in which the variable regions of one heavy chain and one light chain are tightly non-covalently associated. In this configuration, the three CDRs of each variable region interact to define a target binding site on the surface of the V _H -V _L dimer. The six CDRs together confer target binding specificity to the antibody. However, even a single variable region (ie, containing only three CDRs specific to the target, half of the Fv) has the ability to recognize and bind to the target, although with less affinity than the complete binding site. is doing. “Single-chain Fv” or “sFv” antibody fragments comprise the V _H and V _L regions of an antibody, wherein these regions are present in a single polypeptide chain. Generally, Fv polypeptide has further comprise a polypeptide linker between the V _H and V _L domains, sFv is adapted to be able to take the desired structure for target binding.

The Fab fragment contains the constant region of the light chain and the first constant region (CH1) of the heavy chain. Fab ′ fragments differ from Fab fragments in that a small number of residues comprising one or more cysteines from the antibody hinge region are added to the carboxy terminus of the heavy chain CH1 region. The F (ab ′) fragment is a product obtained by cleaving a disulfide bond at the hinge cysteine of the F (ab ′) ₂ pepsin digestion product. Other chemical couplings of antibody fragments are known to those skilled in the art.

  The term “monoclonal antibody” as used herein refers to antibodies obtained from a substantially homogeneous antibody population, ie, antibodies that are identical except for spontaneous mutations in which individual antibodies in the population may be present in trace amounts. Monoclonal antibodies are highly specific and bind to a single target site. Moreover, in contrast to conventional (polyclonal) antibody samples that typically contain different antibodies that bind to different determinants (epitopes), each monoclonal antibody binds to a single determinant on the target. In addition to its specificity, monoclonal antibodies are advantageous in that they can be synthesized by hybridoma culture so that other immunoglobulins are not contaminated. The modifier “monoclonal” indicates the character of the antibody as being obtained from a substantially homogeneous antibody population, and is not to be construed as requiring production of the antibody by any particular method. For example, the monoclonal antibodies used in the present invention can be isolated from phage antibody libraries using well-known techniques. The parent monoclonal antibody used in the present invention can be produced by the hybridoma method first shown by Kohler and Milstein, Nature 256, 495 (1975) or by a recombinant method.

“Humanized” forms of non-human (eg, murine) antibodies are chimeric immunoglobulins, immunoglobulin chains, or fragments thereof (eg, Fv, Fab, Fab ′, F () that contain minimal sequence derived from non-human immunoglobulin. ab ′) ₂ or other target binding subsequence of the antibody). Generally, a humanized antibody includes substantially all of at least one, typically two variable regions, in which all or substantially all of the CDR regions correspond to the CDR regions of a non-human immunoglobulin. All or substantially all FR regions are FR regions of human immunoglobulin consensus sequences. The humanized antibody may also comprise at least a portion of an immunoglobulin constant region (Fc), typically the Fc of a selected human immunoglobulin template.

  The terms “cell”, “cell line” and “cell culture” include progeny. It is also known that due to deliberate or accidental mutations, all progenies may not have completely identical DNA content. Mutant progeny that have similar functions or biological properties to those selected in the originally transformed cell are included. A “host cell” as used in the present invention is generally a prokaryotic or eukaryotic host.

  “Transformation” of a cellular organism with DNA means introducing DNA into the organism so that it can replicate as an extrachromosomal element or by insertion into the chromosome. “Transfection” of a cellular organism with DNA refers to the incorporation of DNA, such as an expression vector, into a cell or organism regardless of whether any coding sequence is actually expressed. The terms “transfected host cell” and “transformed” refer to a cell into which DNA has been introduced. The cell is called a “host cell” and can be either a prokaryotic cell or a eukaryotic cell. Typical prokaryotic host cells include various strains of E. coli. Typical eukaryotic host cells are mammalian cells such as Chinese hamster ovary or human derived cells. The introduced DNA sequence may be from the same species as the host cell or from a different species than the host cell, or may be a hybrid DNA sequence that includes some foreign DNA and some homologous DNA. .

  The term “vector” refers to a DNA construct comprising a DNA sequence that is operably linked to appropriate control sequences capable of affecting the expression of DNA in a suitable host. Such control sequences include promoters that effect transcription, any operator sequences that regulate transcription, sequences encoding appropriate mRNA ribosome binding sites, and sequences that control the termination of transcription and translation. The vector can be a plasmid, a phage particle, or just a potential genomic insert. Once transformed into a suitable host, the vector may replicate and function independently of the host genome, or may be integrated into the genome itself. In the present specification, “plasmid” and “vector” are sometimes used interchangeably as the plasmid is the most commonly used form of vector. However, the present invention also encompasses other forms of vectors that perform equivalent functions and are now known or will be known in the future.

  An expression “control sequence” refers to a DNA sequence that is required to express an operably linked coding sequence in a particular host organism. For example, suitable control sequences for prokaryotes include a promoter, optionally an operator sequence, and a ribosome binding site. Eukaryotic cells are known to use promoters, polyadenylation signals, and enhancers. When expressed as a protein precursor involved in polypeptide secretion, DNA for the signal peptide or secretion leader can be operably linked to DNA encoding the polypeptide; affecting transcription of the sequence In some cases, the promoter or enhancer is operably linked to the coding sequence; or if it affects transcription of the sequence, the ribosome binding site is operably linked to the coding sequence; or the ribosome binding site translates When arranged to facilitate, the ribosome binding site is operably linked to the coding sequence. In general, “ligated in an operable state” means that the DNA sequences to be ligated are contiguous, in the case of a secretory leader, contiguous and within the same reading frame. However, enhancers do not have to be contiguous.

  A “mammal” to be treated refers to any animal classified as a mammal, such as humans, farm animals, non-human primates, and zoos, sports, or dogs, horses, cats, cattle, etc. Includes pet animals.

  The term “epitope tagged” when used herein in reference to a polypeptide refers to a polypeptide fused to an “epitope tag”. An epitope tag polypeptide is short enough so that it has sufficient residues to provide an epitope against which antibodies can be made and does not interfere with the activity of the polypeptide. The epitope tag is also preferably unique so that the antibody does not substantially cross-react with other epitopes. Suitable tag polypeptides generally have at least 6 amino acid residues and are usually about 8-50 amino acid residues (preferably 9-30 residues). For example, flu HA tag polypeptide and its antibody 12CA5 (Field et al, Mol Cell. Biol. 8: 2159-2165 (1988))); c-myc tag and 8F9, 3C7, 6E10, G4, B7 and 9E10 antibodies (Evan et al., Mol Cell. Biol. 5 (12): 3610-3616 (1985)); and herpes simplex virus glycoprotein D (gD) tag and its antibody (Paborsky et al., Protein Engineering 3 (6 ): 547-553 (1990)). In certain embodiments, the epitope tag may be an epitope of the Fc region of an IgG molecule (eg, IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 or IgG4) that is involved in extending the serum half-life of the IgG molecule in vivo.

  As used herein, the term “label” refers to a detectable compound or composition that can be conjugated directly or indirectly to a molecule or protein, eg, an antibody. The label can itself be detectable (eg, a radioactive label or a fluorescent label) or, in the case of an enzyme label, can catalyze a detectable chemical change in the substrate compound or composition.

  As used herein, “solid phase” means a non-aqueous matrix to which the antibody of the present invention can be attached. Examples of solid phases encompassed herein include partially or wholly glass (eg, controlled pore glass), polysaccharides (eg, agarose), polyacrylamide, polystyrene, polyvinyl alcohol and silicone. Included in the solid phase. In certain embodiments, depending on the context, the solid phase includes the wells of an assay plate; in another example, it refers to a purification column (eg, an affinity chromatography column).

  As used herein, the term “IgE-mediated disease” refers to a condition or disease characterized by overproduction of immunoglobulin IgE and / or hypersensitivity to IgE. In particular, it is interpreted to include conditions associated with anaphylactic hypersensitivity reactions or atopic allergies, including, for example: asthma, allergic rhinitis and conjunctivitis (hay fever), eczema, urticaria, atopic dermatitis, and food allergies Is done. For example, severe physiological conditions of anaphylactic shock caused by bee stings, snake bites, food or drugs are also included in this category.

Antibody Generation A starting or “parent” antibody can be prepared using techniques for making such antibodies available in the art. These techniques are well known. Exemplary methods for making starting antibodies are described in more detail below. These descriptions are possible alternative techniques for generating or selecting a parent antibody and are not intended to limit the method of generating such molecules.

  The binding affinity of the antibody is measured prior to production of the high affinity antibody of the invention. The antibodies can also be subjected to other biological activity assays, eg, to assess therapeutic effects. Such assays are known to those skilled in the art and depend on the target and the intended use of the antibody.

  "Antibodies: A Laboratory Manual" (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Ed Harlow and David Lane (1988)) to select antibodies that bind to specific epitopes (eg, antibodies that inhibit IgE binding to high affinity receptors) Routine cross-inhibition assays as described in can be performed. Alternatively, epitope mapping can be performed to determine the site where the antibody binds to the epitope of interest. Optionally, the binding affinity of the antibody for the target homologue used to make the antibody (if the homologue is derived from a different species) can be assessed using techniques known in the art. In one embodiment, the other species is a non-human mammal that is administered the antibody in preclinical studies. Thus, the species are non-human primates such as rhesus monkeys, cynomolgus monkeys, baboons, chimpanzees and macaques. In other embodiments, the species is, for example, a rodent, a cat or a dog.

  The parent antibody is modified in accordance with the present invention to produce an antibody that has a higher or stronger target binding affinity than the parent antibody. The resulting high affinity antibody preferably has a target binding affinity that is at least about 10 times, or at least about 20 times, or at least about 500 times, or 1000 to 5000 times higher than the binding affinity of the parent antibody to the target. The degree of improvement in binding affinity required or desired will depend on the initial binding affinity of the parent antibody.

  In general, a method for making a high affinity antibody from a parent antibody comprises the following steps:

1. Obtain or select a parent antibody that binds to the target of interest and has heavy and light chain variable regions. This is done by traditional hybridoma technology, phage display technology, or other methods of generating target specific antibodies.

2. Select a framework sequence having a sequence close to the parent framework, preferably a human template sequence. The template can be selected based on, for example, the same overall length, the size of the CDR, the amino acid residue located at the junction between the framework and the CDR, the overall homology, and the like. The template selected can be a mixture of one or more sequences or can be a consensus template.

3. Create a library of clones by making random amino acid substitutions at each and every possible CDR site. For example, amino acids that are adjacent to CDRs or that may affect binding or folding in human framework templates may be randomly substituted with all possible amino acids to create a framework replacement library. For these framework substitutions, their potential effects on target binding and antibody folding can be assessed. Amino acid substitutions in the framework can be made simultaneously or sequentially with amino acid substitutions in the CDRs. One method for creating variant libraries by oligonucleotide synthesis.

4. Construct an expression vector containing the heavy chain and / or light chain mutant prepared in step (3). The vector may include the chemical formulas: FRH1-CDRH1-FRH2-CDRH2-FRH3-CDRH3-FRH4 (I) and FRL1-CDRL1FRL2-CDRL2-FRL3-CDRL3-FRL4 (II), where FRL1, FRL2, FRL3, FRL4 , FRH1, FRH2, FRH3 and FRH4 represent mutations in the framework template light chain and heavy chain sequences selected in step 3, and CDR represents the mutant CDR of the parent antibody CDR. An example of a vector containing such light and heavy chain sequences is shown in FIG.

5. Screen the clone library against a specific target and select clones with improved binding affinity from those that bind to the target. Clones that bind with greater affinity than the parent molecule can be selected. The optimal high affinity candidate has the highest possible binding affinity compared to the parent antibody, and preferably has a binding affinity greater than 20 times, 100 times, 1000 times or 5000 times. If the chosen variant contains undesired amino acids, such as those introduced into glycosylation sites or immunogenic sites, such amino acids are replaced with more useful amino acid residues and binding affinity Sex may be reassessed.

  Using this method, a high affinity antibody may be produced by randomly substituting only the CDR region from a fully human parent antibody, leaving the human framework region intact.

  With improved high-throughput screening techniques and vectors as shown in FIG. 1, one skilled in the art can quickly and efficiently screen a comprehensive library of substitutions at all sites in any CDR and / or framework region . Random substitution of all amino acids at all sites simultaneously to select combinations that could significantly increase affinity that would not be expected or identified by individual substitutions, for example due to synergy It becomes possible to do.

Preparation of parent antibody
A. Target preparation Soluble targets or fragments thereof can be used as immunogens to generate antibodies. Antibodies are raised against the target of interest. Preferably, the target is a biologically important polypeptide, and administration of the antibody to a mammal suffering from a disease or disorder can have a therapeutic effect on the mammal. However, antibodies can also be generated against non-polypeptide targets. If the target is a polypeptide, it can be a transmembrane molecule (eg a receptor) or a ligand such as a growth factor. One of the targets of the present invention is IgE. Whole cells can also be used as an immunogen for antibody production. The target may be produced recombinantly or using synthetic methods. The target can also be isolated from natural sources.

  For transmembrane molecules such as receptors, fragments thereof (eg the extracellular region of the receptor) can be used as immunogens. Alternatively, cells that express transmembrane molecules can be used as immunogens. Such cells can be derived from natural sources (eg, mast cell lines) or can be cells that have been transformed to express a transmembrane molecule by recombinant techniques. Other targets useful for antibody preparation and forms thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

B. Polyclonal Antibodies Polyclonal antibodies are usually made in non-human mammals by multiple subcutaneous (sc) or intraperitoneal (ip) injections of an appropriate target in combination with an adjuvant. It may be useful to bind the relevant target to a protein that is immunogenic in the animal species to be immunized, such as keyhole limpet hemocyanin. Many substances that can elicit an immune response are well known in the art.

  Animals are immunized against the target, immunogenic conjugate, or derivative by injecting the solution or the conjugate (for rabbits or mice, respectively) with Freund's complete adjuvant and injecting the solution intradermally. . One month later, the animals are boosted by subcutaneous injection of multiple sites with peptides or conjugates contained in Freund's complete adjuvant in the original 1/5 to 1/10 dose. After 7 to 14 days, blood is drawn from the animals and the antibody titer of the serum is tested. Animals are boosted until the titer reaches a plateau.

The selected mammalian antibody usually has a sufficiently strong binding affinity for the target. For example, an antibody can bind to a human anti-IgE target with a binding affinity (Kd) value of about 1 × 10 ⁻⁸ M. Antibody affinity can be determined by saturation binding; enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); and competition assays (eg, radioimmunoassay).

  To screen for antibodies that bind to the target of interest, routine cross-linking assays such as those described in Antibodies, A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Ed Harlow and David Lane (1988) can be performed. Alternatively, epitope mapping as described, for example, in Champe, et al. J. Biol. Chem. 270: 1388-1394 (1995) can be performed to measure binding.

C. Monoclonal antibody A monoclonal antibody is an antibody that recognizes a single antigenic site. Monoclonal antibodies are much more useful than polyclonal antibodies, which typically include antibodies that recognize a variety of different antigenic sites, due to their uniform specificity. Monoclonal antibodies can be made by using the hybridoma method first described by Kohler et al., Nature, 256: 495 (1975), or by recombinant DNA methods.

  In the hybridoma method, other suitable host animals such as mice or rodents are immunized as described hereinabove to produce or produce antibodies that will specifically bind to the protein used for immunization. Inducing lymphocytes to gain. Alternatively, lymphocytes can be immunized in vitro. Lymphocytes are then fused with myeloma cells using a suitable fusing agent such as polyethylene glycol to form hybridoma cells (Goding, Monoclonal Antibodies: Principals and Practice, pp. 590-103 (Academic Press, 1986)). .

  The hybridoma cells prepared in this manner are planted and grown in a suitable medium that preferably contains one or more substances that inhibit the growth or survival of the unfused parent myeloma cells. For example, if the parent myeloma cells lack the hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HGPRT or HPRT) enzyme, the medium for the hybridoma is typically a substance that prevents the growth of HGPRT-deficient cells. It will contain some hypoxanthine, aminopterin and thymidine (HAT medium). Preferred myeloma cells are those that fuse efficiently, support stable high levels of antibody production by selected antibody-producing cells, and are sensitive to a medium such as HAT medium. Human myeloma and mouse-human heteromyeloma cell lines have been described for the production of human monoclonal antibodies (Kozbar, J. Immunol. 133: 3001 (1984); Brodeur et al., Monoclonal Antibody Production Techniques and Applications, pp 51-63 (Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, 1987)).

  After identifying hybridoma cells that produce antibodies with the desired specificity, affinity, and / or activity, the clones can be subcloned by limiting dilution and grown by routine methods (Goding, Monoclonal Antibodies: Principals and Practice, pp. 59-103, Academic Press, 1986)). Suitable media for this purpose include. Monoclonal antibodies secreted by subclones are suitably separated from the culture medium by conventional immunoglobulin purification methods such as, for example, protein A-Sepharose, hydroxyapatite chromatography, gel electrophoresis, dialysis or affinity chromatography.

  DNA encoding a monoclonal antibody is readily identified and sequenced using conventional methods (eg, by using oligonucleotide probes that can specifically bind to the genes encoding the heavy and light chains of the monoclonal antibody). . Hybridoma cells function as a source of such DNA. Once identified, the DNA can be placed into an expression vector, which is then introduced into a host cell, such as an E. coli cell, NS0 cell, Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell or myeloma cell, and the set. Monoclonal antibodies are synthesized in the replacement host cell. The DNA can also be obtained, for example, by replacing human heavy and light chain constant regions with homologous mouse sequence positions (US Pat. No. 4,816,567; Morrison et al., Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 81: 6851 ( 1984)), or by covalent linkage to an immunoglobulin polypeptide.

D. Humanized antibodies Humanization is a technique for making chimeric antibodies in which substantially less than an intact human variable region has been substituted with the corresponding sequence from a non-human species. Humanized antibodies have one or more amino acid residues introduced from a non-human source. These non-human amino acid residues are often referred to as “import” residues, and are typically derived from “import” variable regions. Humanization is basically performed by Winter and co-workers (Jones et al, Nature 321: 522-525 (1986); Riechman et al., Nature 332: 323-327 (1988); Verhoeyens et al., Science 239: 1534-1536 (1988)) and can be performed by replacing non-human CDR or CDR sequences with corresponding sequences in human antibodies (see, eg, US Pat. No. 4,816,567). As practiced in the present invention, a humanized antibody may have several CDR residues and several FR residues substituted with residues from homologous sites in mouse antibodies.

  The selection of both light and heavy human variable regions for use in generating humanized antibodies is very important to reduce antigenicity. In so-called “best fit” methods, the variable region sequences of non-human antibodies are compared to a library of known human variable region sequences. The human sequence closest to that of the non-human parent antibody is then utilized as a human framework for humanized antibodies (Sims et al., J. Immunol. 151: 2296 (1993); Chothia et al., J. Mol. Biol. 196: 901 (1987)). Another method uses a special framework derived from the consensus sequence of all human antibodies of a particular subgroup of light or heavy chains. A similar framework can be used for several different humanized antibodies (Carter et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 89: 4285 (1992); Presta et al., J. Immunol. 151 : 2623 (1993)).

E. Antibody Fragments Various techniques have been developed for the production of antibody fragments. Traditionally, these fragments were derived through proteolysis of intact antibodies (e.g. Morimoto et al., Journal of Biochemical and Biophysical Methods 24: 107-117 (1992) and Brennan et al., Science 229: 81 (1985)). However, these fragments can now be produced directly by recombinant host cells. For example, antibody fragments can be isolated from antibody phage libraries. Alternatively, F (ab ′) ₂ -SH fragments can be directly recovered from E. coli and chemically coupled to form F (ab ′) ₂ fragments (Carter et al., Bio / Technology 10: 163167 ( 1992)). In other methods, F (ab ′) ₂ fragments can be isolated directly from recombinant host cell culture. Other techniques for producing antibody fragments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. In another embodiment, the antibody selected is a single chain Fv fragment (scFv) (PCT patent application WO 93/16185).

Preparation of High Affinity Antibodies Once the parent antibody is identified and isolated, one or more amino acid residues are altered in one or more variable regions of the parent antibody. Alternatively, or in addition, one or more substitutions of framework residues may be introduced into the parent antibody, thereby improving the binding affinity of the antibody, eg, the binding affinity of the antibody to human IgE Is done. Examples of framework region residues to be modified include those that bind directly to the target non-covalently (Amit et al. Science 233: 747-753 (1986)); those that interact / influence the CDR conformation (Chothia et al. J. Mol. Biol. 196: 901-917 (1987)); and / or those added to the VL-VH interface (EP 239 400 B1). In certain embodiments, modification of one or more such framework region residues increases the binding affinity of the antibody for the target of interest.

  Modification of the biological properties of the antibody can be achieved, for example, by (a) the structure of the polypeptide backbone in the substitution region, such as the sheet or helix conformation; (b) the molecular charge or hydrophobicity at the target site, or Is achieved by selecting substitutions that have significantly different effects on the maintenance of the bulk. Non-conservative substitutions involve exchanging a member of one of these classes with another class.

  Nucleic acid molecules encoding amino acid sequence variations are prepared by a variety of methods known in the art. These methods include, but are not limited to, oligonucleotide-mediated (or site-directed) mutagenesis, PCR mutagenesis, and early or pre-species variant or non-mutant cassette mutagenesis. is not. A preferred method of creating mutations is an oligonucleotide-mediated synthesis method. In certain embodiments, the variant antibody has only a single substituted hypervariable region residue, eg, from about 2 to about 15 hypervariable region substitutions.

One method of creating a library of variants is by oligonucleotide-mediated synthesis based on the scheme shown in FIG. Three oligonucleotides, each of approximately 100 nucleotides, can be synthesized over the entire light chain or heavy chain variable region. Each oligonucleotide consists of: (1) any 60 nucleotides generated by (NNK) ₂₀ triplets, where N represents any nucleotide, K represents G or T, and (2) either an adjacent oligo or vector sequence at each end Of about 15-30 nucleotides of overlap. As these three oligonucleotides anneal in the PCR reaction, the polymerase fills the opposing strands to produce a complete duplex of heavy or light chain variable region sequences. The number of triplets can be adjusted to the length of any repeat and their positions in the oligonucleotide can be selected so that only amino acids in any CDR or framework region can be substituted. Using (NNK) allows for all 20 amino acids at each position in the encoded mutation. Overlapping sequences of 5-10 amino acids (15-30 nucleotides) are not replaced, but may be chosen so that they are in the stacking region of the framework or may be replaced by separate or subsequent synthesis. Methods for synthesizing oligonucleotides are well known in the art and commercially available products are available. Methods for making mutant antibodies from these oligonucleotides are also well known in the art, such as PCR.

  A library of heavy and light chain variants that differ at random positions in the sequence can be constructed in any expression vector, such as bacteriophage, in particular the vector of FIG. Includes DNA encoding specific heavy and light chain mutations.

  Following production of the mutant antibody, the biological activity of the mutant relative to the parent antibody is determined. As described above, this includes measuring the binding affinity of the variant to the target. There are many high-throughput methods for rapidly screening mutant antibodies for their ability to bind to a target of interest.

  Next, one or two or more mutant antibodies selected in this initial screening are screened for increased binding affinity compared to the parent antibody. One conventional method for determining binding affinity is to assess binding and dissociation rate constants using a BIAcore® surface plasmon resonance system (BlAcore, Inc.). According to the manufacturer's instructions (BlAcore), the biosensor chip is activated for the covalent coupling of the target. The target is then diluted and injected onto the chip, and a signal is obtained in response units (RU) of immobilized material. Since the signal in RU is proportional to the mass of the immobilized substance, this represents the range of target concentrations immobilized on the matrix. Dissociation data is applied to a one-site model to obtain koff +/- s.d. (standard deviation of measured values). A pseudo first order rate constant (ks) is calculated for each binding curve and plotted as a function of protein concentration to obtain kon +/− s.e. (standard error of the fit). The equilibrium dissociation constant Kd for binding is calculated as koff / kon from SPR measurement. Since the equilibrium dissociation constant Kd is inversely proportional to koff, it is possible to evaluate the increase in affinity assuming that the binding rate (kon) is constant in all mutants.

  The resulting high affinity candidates are optionally subjected to one or more additional bioactivity analyzes to determine whether the mutant antibody with increased binding affinity retains the desired therapeutic properties. May be. For example, in the case of an anti-IgE antibody, one that blocks the binding of IgE to the receptor and inhibits the release of histamine may be screened. Optimal variant antibodies retain the ability to bind to the target with significantly higher binding affinity than the parent antibody.

  In many cases, the thus selected mutant antibody can be further modified depending on the intended use of the antibody. Such modifications can include further modification of the amino acid sequence, fusion with a heterologous polypeptide, and / or covalent modifications as described in detail below. For example, to improve the oxidative stability of the molecule and prevent abnormal cross-linking, any cysteine residue that is not involved in maintaining the proper conformation of the mutated antibody may be substituted, typically with serine. Is done. Conversely, a cysteine bond may be added to the antibody to improve its stability (especially when the antibody is an antibody fragment such as an Fv fragment).

Vectors The present invention also provides isolated nucleic acids encoding mutant antibodies as disclosed herein, vectors and host cells containing the nucleic acids, and recombinant techniques for producing the mutant antibodies. For recombinant production of the mutant antibody, the nucleic acid encoding it is isolated and inserted into a replicable vector for further cloning (amplification of DNA) or for expression. The DNA encoding the mutant antibody can be easily isolated and sequenced using conventional methods (eg, by using oligonucleotide probes that can specifically bind to the genes encoding the heavy and light chains of the mutant antibody). The

  Many vectors are available. Vector constructs generally include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: a signal sequence, an origin of replication, one or more marker genes, an enhancer element, a promoter, And transcription termination sequences.

  The phage expression vector shown in FIG. 1 is a commonly used M13 vector and the gene III virality of M13 itself so that mutant Fabs can be quickly selected and screened with appropriate binding specificity and minimal affinity criteria Consists of a secretion signal. This vector does not use the complete gene III sequence, so nothing is presented on the surface of bacterial cells, but Fab is secreted into the periplasmic space. Alternatively, Fab can be expressed and isolated in the cytoplasm. Heavy and light chains each have their own viral secretion signal, but are dependently expressed from a single strong inducible promoter.

  The vector in FIG. 1 also has a His tag and a myc tag for convenient purification and detection. One skilled in the art will recognize that the Fab may be expressed separately from separate promoters, or that the secretion signal need not be a selected viral sequence, but is suitable for secretion of the antibody fragment from the selected host cell. It will be appreciated that prokaryotic or eukaryotic signal sequences may be used. It will also be appreciated that the heavy and light chains may be present in different vectors.

A. Signal sequence constructs Mutant antibodies of the invention can be produced recombinantly. The variant may also be expressed as a fusion polypeptide fused to a heterologous polypeptide, preferably a signal sequence or other polypeptide having a specific cleavage site at the N-terminus of the mature protein or polypeptide. The heterologous signal sequence selected is preferably one that is recognized and processed (ie, cleaved by a signal peptidase) by the host cell. For prokaryotic host cells that do not recognize and process the native antibody signal sequence, replace the signal sequence with a prokaryotic signal sequence selected, for example, from the group of alkaline phosphatase, penicillinase, Ipp, or thermostable enterotoxin II leader. May be. Alternatively, in the case of the vector of FIG. 1, the selected signal sequence was a viral signal sequence derived from gene III. For yeast secretion, the native signal sequence is, for example, yeast invertase leader, alpha-factor leader (genus Saccharomyces and Kluyveromyces alpha-factor leader), or acid phosphatase leader, C. albicans glucoamylase leader, or eg WO Substitution may be made with the signal described in 90/13646. For mammalian cell expression, mammalian signal sequences and viral secretion leaders such as herpes simplex gD signals are available. Such precursor region DNA is combined with the DNA encoding the mutant antibody in a reading frame.

B. Origin of replication construct Vectors typically include nucleic acid sequences that enable the vector to replicate in one or more selected host cells. In general, this sequence is one that enables the vector to replicate independently of the host chromosomal DNA, and includes origins of replication or autonomously replicating sequences. Such sequences are well known in various bacteria, yeasts and viruses. The origin of replication from plasmid pBR322 is suitable for most gram-negative bacteria, the 2μ plasmid origin is suitable for yeast, and the various viral origins (SV40, polyoma, adenovirus, VSV or BPV) are vectors in mammalian cells. Useful for. In general, an origin of replication construct is not required for mammalian expression vectors (the SV40 origin can typically be used only because it has an early promoter).

C. Selection gene constructs Vectors may contain a selection gene, also called a selectable marker. Typical selection genes are (a) confer resistance to antibiotics or other toxins such as ampicillin, neomycin, methotrexate, or tetracycline, (b) complement auxotrophic defects, or (c) It encodes a protein that supplies important nutrients not available from natural media, such as the gene encoding D. alanine racemase of Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

  One example selection scheme utilizes agents that inhibit the growth of host cells. Cells that have been successfully transformed with a heterologous gene produce a protein conferring drug resistance and thus survive the selection procedure. Examples of such dominant selection use neomycin, mycophenolic acid and hygromycin.

  Other examples of selectable markers suitable for mammalian cells may incorporate antibody nucleic acids, such as DHFR, thymidine kinase, metallothionein-I and -II, preferably primate metallothionein genes, adenosine deaminase, ornithine decarboxylase, etc. It enables identification of cells.

  For example, cells transformed with a DHFR selection gene are identified by first culturing all transformants in a medium containing methotrexate (Mtx), a competitive antagonist of DHFR. Suitable host cells when using wild-type DHFR are Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell lines that are deficient in DHFR activity.

  Alternatively, host cells transformed or co-transformed with DNA sequences encoding other selectable markers such as antibodies, wild-type DHFR protein, and aminoglycoside 3'-phosphotransferase (APH), particularly including endogenous DHFR Wild type host) can be selected by growth of cells in a medium containing a selection reagent for a selectable marker, such as an aminoglycoside antibiotic such as kanamycin, neomycin, or G418 (US Pat. No. 4,965,199). it can.

  A suitable selection gene for use in yeast is the trp1 gene present in the yeast plasmid Yrp7 (Stinchcomb et al., Nature 282: 39 (1979)). The trp1 gene provides a selectable marker for yeast mutants lacking the ability to grow in tryptophan, such as ATCC No. 44076 or PEP4-1. Jones, Genetics 85: 12 (1977). The presence of trp1 damage in the yeast host cell genome provides an environment in which transformation is effectively detected by growth under tryptophan deficiency. Similarly, Leu2-deficient yeast strains (ATCC 20,622 or 38,626) are complemented with known plasmids carrying the Leu2 gene.

D. Promoter construct Expression and cloning vectors usually contain a promoter that is recognized by the host organism and is operably linked to the antibody nucleic acid. Suitable promoters for use in prokaryotic hosts include phoA promoters, β-lactamase and lactose promoter systems, alkaline phosphatase, tryptophan (trp) promoter systems, and hybrid promoters such as the tac promoter. However, other known bacterial promoters are suitable. Promoters used in bacterial systems can also include a Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequence operably linked to the antibody-encoding DNA.

  Promoter sequences for eukaryotes are known. Virtually all eukaryotic genes have an AT-rich region located approximately 25 to 30 bases upstream from the site where transcription begins. Another sequence found 70 to 80 bases upstream from the start of transcription in many genes is the CNCAAT region, where N can be any nucleotide. Most eukaryotic genes have an AATAAA sequence at the 3 ′ end, which can be a signal for adding a polyA sequence to the 3 ′ end of the coding sequence. All of these sequences are suitably inserted into prokaryotic expression vectors.

  Examples of promoter sequences suitable for use with yeast hosts include 3-phosphoglycerate kinase or enolase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, hexokinase, pyruvate decarboxylase, phosphofructokinase, Included are promoters of other glycolytic enzymes such as glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, 3-phosphoglycerate mutase, pyruvate kinase, triose phosphate isomerase, phosphoglucose isomerase, and glucokinase.

  Other yeast promoters, which are inducible promoters that further have the advantage of transcription controlled by growth status, are alcohol dehydrogenase 2, isocytochrome C, acid phosphatase, degrading enzymes involved in nitrogen metabolism, metallothionein, glyceraldehyde-3 -Promoter region for phosphate dehydrogenase and enzymes involved in the utilization of maltose and galactose. Suitable vectors and promoters for use in yeast expression are further described in EP 73,657. Yeast enhancers are also advantageously used with yeast promoters.

  Transcription of the antibody from the vector in a mammalian host cell can be achieved, for example, by polyoma virus, fowlpox virus, adenovirus (eg, adenovirus 2), bovine papilloma virus, avian sarcoma, if compatible with the host cell system. From heterologous mammalian promoters such as promoters obtained from viruses, cytomegaloviruses, retroviruses, hepatitis B viruses, and most preferably simian virus 40 (SV40), eg, actin promoters or immunoglobulin promoters It is controlled by the promoter obtained from the obtained promoter or heat shock promoter.

  The early and late promoters of the SV40 virus are conveniently obtained as an SV40 restriction fragment that also includes the SV40 viral origin of replication. The immediate early promoter of human cytomegalovirus is conveniently obtained as a HindIII E restriction fragment. A system for expressing DNA in mammalian hosts using the bovine papilloma virus as a vector is disclosed in US Pat. No. 4,419,446. A modification of this system is described in US Pat. No. 4,601,978. Alternatively, human β-interferon cDNA is expressed in mouse cells under the control of a thymidine kinase promoter derived from herpes simplex virus. Alternatively, the Rous sarcoma virus terminal repeat can be used as a promoter.

E. Enhancer element constructs Transcription of DNA encoding the antibodies of the invention by higher eukaryotes is often increased by inserting an enhancer sequence into the vector. Many enhancer sequences are now known from mammalian genes (globin, elastase, albumin, α-interferon, and insulin). Typically, however, one will use an enhancer from a eukaryotic cell virus. Examples include the late SV40 enhancer (bp 100-270), the cytomegalovirus early promoter enhancer, the polyoma enhancer late in the replication origin, and the adenovirus enhancer. See also Yaniv, Nature 297: 17-18 (1982) on facilitating elements for activation of eukaryotic promoters. The enhancer may be connected to the antibody coding sequence at a position 5 ′ or 3 ′ in the vector, but is preferably provided at a site 5 ′ to the promoter.

F. Transcription termination constructs Expression vectors for use in eukaryotic host cells (nucleated cells from yeast, fungi, insects, plants, animals, humans, or other multicellular organisms) also have transcription termination and mRNA It may also contain sequences necessary for stabilization. Such sequences are generally available from the 5 ′ and sometimes 3 ′ untranslated regions of eukaryotic or viral DNA or cDNA. These regions include nucleotide segments transcribed as polyadenylated fragments in the untranslated site of the mRNA encoding the antibody. One useful transcription termination component is the bovine growth hormone polyadenylation region. See for example W094 / 11026.

Selection and transformation of host cells Suitable host cells for cloning or expressing the DNA in the vector are prokaryotic, yeast, or higher eukaryotic cells. Prokaryotes suitable for this purpose include, for example, E. coli, Enterobacter, Erwinia, Klebsiella, Proteus, Salmonella, Serratia, and Intestinal bacteria such as Shigella and both gram negative and gram positive organisms such as Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Pseudomonas, and Streptomyces. One preferred E. coli cloning host is E. coli 294 (ATCC 31,446), although other strains such as E. coli B, E. coli X1776 (ATCC 31,537) and E. coli W3110 (ATCC 27,325) are also suitable. ing. These examples are given for illustrative purposes and are not limiting.

  In addition to prokaryotes, eukaryotic microbes such as filamentous fungi or yeast are suitable hosts for cloning or expression for antibody-encoding vectors. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is most commonly used among lower eukaryotic host microorganisms. However, for example, Schizosaccharomyces pombe; Kluyveromyces; Candida; Trichoderma; Neurospora crassa; and, for example, Neurospora Many other genera, species, and strains are common, such as the genus Penicillium, Tolypocladium, and filamentous fungi such as A. nidulans, A. niger and Aspergillus hosts Available here and is also useful here.

  Suitable host cells for the expression of glycosylated antibody are derived from multicellular organisms. In principle, any higher eukaryotic cell culture can be utilized, regardless of whether it is derived from a vertebrate culture or an invertebrate culture. Examples of invertebrate cells include plant and insect cells, Luckow et al., Bio / Technology 6, 47-55 (1988); Miller et al., Genetic Engineering, Setlow et al. Eds. Vol. 8, pp. 277-279 (Plenam publishing 1986); Mseda et al., Nature 315, 592-594 (1985). Many baculovirus strains and variants, and hosts such as Spodoptera frugiperda (caterpillars), Aedes (mosquitoes), Drosophila melanogaster (Drosophila), and Bombyx mori Corresponding permissive insect host cells from which have been identified have been identified. Various virus strains for transfection are publicly available, such as the L-1 variant of Autographa californica NPV and the Bm-5 strain of silkworm NPV, such viruses May be used here as viruses according to the invention, in particular as viruses for transfection of Spodoptera frugiperda cells. In addition, plant cell cultures such as cotton, corn, potato, soybean, petunia, tomato and tobacco are also utilized as hosts.

  Propagation of vertebrate cells and vertebrate cells in culture (tissue culture) is becoming a routine procedure. See Tissue Culture, Academic Press, Kruse and Patterson, eds. (1973). Examples of useful mammalian host cell lines are: monkey kidney; human embryonic kidney line; neonatal hamster kidney line; Chinese hamster ovary cells / -DHFR (CHO, Urlaub et al., Proc. NatI. Acad. Sci. USA 77 : 4216 (1980)); mouse Sertoli cells; human cervical cancer cells (HELA); canine kidney cells; human lung cells; human hepatocytes;

  Host cells are transformed with the vectors described above for antibody production and cultured in a conventional nutrient medium modified to be suitable for induction of promoters, selection of transformants, or amplification of genes encoding desired sequences. The

  Host cells used to produce mutant antibodies of the invention can be cultured in a variety of media. Commercially available media such as Ham's F10 (Sigma), Minimal Essential Medium (MEM, Sigma), RPMI-1640 (Sigma), and Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM, Sigma) are suitable for culturing host cells. Furthermore, Ham et al., Meth. Enzymol. 58: 44 (1979), Barnes et al., Anal. Biochem. 102: 255 (1980), U.S. Pat.Nos. 4,767,704; 4,657,866; 4,560,655; 5,122,469; 5,712,163 No .; or any medium described in US Pat. No. 6,048,728 may be used as a culture medium for host cells. In any of these media, necessary hormones and / or other growth factors (eg, insulin, transferrin, or epidermal growth factor), salts (eg, X-chloride, where X is sodium, calcium, magnesium; and phosphate ), Buffers (eg, HEPES), nucleotides (eg, adenosine and thymidine), antibiotics (eg, trademark gentamicin drugs), trace elements (usually defined as inorganic compounds present at final concentrations in the micromolar range), and glucose or An equal energy source is replenished. Other necessary supplements may also be included at appropriate concentrations that would be known to those skilled in the art. Culture conditions such as temperature and pH are as conventionally used for host cells selected for expression and will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Antibody Purification When using recombinant techniques, mutant antibodies can be produced intracellularly or in the periplasmic space, or directly secreted into the medium. If the mutated antibody is produced intracellularly, as a first step, particulate debris of either the host cell or the lysed fragment may be removed, for example, by centrifugation or ultrafiltration. Carter et al., Bio / Technology 10: 163-167 (1992) describes a technique for isolating antibodies secreted into the periplasmic space of E. coli. Briefly, the cell paste is thawed for about 30 minutes or more in the presence of sodium acetate (pH 3.5), EDTA and phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF). Cell debris can be removed by centrifugation. If the mutant antibody is secreted into the medium, the supernatant from such an expression system is generally used first of all, using a commercially available protein concentration filter such as Amicon or Millipore Pellicon ultrafiltration unit. To concentrate. In order to prevent proteolysis, a protease inhibitor such as PMSF may be included in any preceding step, and an antibiotic may be included to prevent the growth of exogenous contaminants.

  Antibody compositions prepared from cells can be purified using, for example, hydroxyapatite chromatography, gel electrophoresis, dialysis, and affinity chromatography, with affinity chromatography being the preferred purification technique. The suitability of protein A as an affinity ligand depends on the species and isotype of the immunoglobulin Fc domain present in the mutant antibody. Protein A can be used to purify antibodies based on human IgG1, IgG2 or IgG4 heavy chains (Lindmark et al., J. Immunol Meth. 62: 1-13 (1983)). Protein G is recommended for all mouse isotypes and human IgG3 (Guss et al., EMBO J. 5: 1567-1575 (1986)). The matrix to which the affinity ligand is attached is most often agarose, but other matrices are available. A mechanically stable matrix such as porous glass or poly (styrenedivinyl) benzene can increase the flow rate and reduce processing time compared to using agarose. When the mutant antibody contains a CH3 domain, Bakerbond ABX ™ resin (J. T. Baker, Phillipsburg, N.J.) is useful for purification. Depending on the mutant antibody to be recovered, fractionation on an ion exchange column, ethanol precipitation, reverse phase HPLC, chromatography on silica, chromatography on heparin sepharose®, anion or cation exchange resin (eg polyaspartic acid) Other techniques for protein purification, such as column chromatography, isoelectric focusing, SDS-PAGE, and ammonium sulfate salting out can also be used.

  Following the preliminary purification step, the mixture containing the desired mutated antibody and contaminants may be subjected to low pH hydrophobic interaction chromatography using an elution buffer having a pH of about 2.5 to 4.5, preferably with a low salt concentration. (For example, about 0 to 0.25 M salts).

Pharmaceutical Formulations A therapeutic formulation of a polypeptide or antibody comprises a polypeptide having the desired purity and any “pharmacologically acceptable” carrier, excipient or stabilizer typically used in the art. All of which are called “excipients”) and can be prepared for storage as a lyophilized formulation or as an aqueous solution. For example, buffers, stabilizers, preservatives, isotonic agents, nonionic detergents, antioxidants and various other additives (Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences, 16th edition, A. Osol, Ed. (1980 )checking). Such additives must be nontoxic to recipients at the dosages and concentrations used.

  Buffers help maintain the pH within a range close to physiological conditions. The buffer is preferably included at a concentration of about 2 mM to about 50 mM. Suitable buffering agents for use with the present invention include organic and inorganic acids and their salts, such as citrate buffer (a mixture of 1 sodium citrate-2 sodium citrate, 3 citric acid-3 sodium citrate). Mixture, citric acid-monosodium citrate mixture, etc.), succinate buffer (succinic acid-sodium succinate mixture, succinic acid-sodium hydroxide mixture, succinic acid-sodium succinate mixture, etc.), tartrate buffer Liquid (tartaric acid-sodium tartrate mixture, tartaric acid-potassium tartrate mixture, tartaric acid-sodium hydroxide mixture, etc.), fumarate buffer (fumaric acid-monosodium fumarate mixture, etc.), fumarate buffer (fumaric acid-fumarate) Acid monosodium mixture, fumaric acid-fumarate disodium mixture, fumaric acid monosodium-fumaric acid 2 sodium mixture), gluconate buffer (gluconic acid-sodium glyconate mixture, gluconic acid-sodium hydroxide mixture, gluconic acid-potassium gluconate mixture), oxalate buffer (oxalic acid-sodium oxalate) Mixture, oxalic acid-sodium hydroxide mixture, oxalic acid-potassium oxalate mixture, etc.), lactate buffer (lactic acid-sodium lactate mixture, lactic acid-sodium hydroxide mixture, lactic acid-potassium lactate mixture etc.), and acetate ( An acetic acid-sodium acetate mixture, an acetic acid-sodium hydroxide mixture, etc.). Also included are phosphate buffers, histidine buffers and trimethylamine salts such as Tris.

  Preservatives may be added to retard microbial growth and may be added in amounts of 0.2-1% (w / v). Preservatives suitable for use with the present invention include phenol, benzyl alcohol, meta-cresol, methylparaben, propylparaben, octadecyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride, benzalkonium halides (eg, chloride, bromide, iodide), chloride Alkylparabens such as hexamethonium, methyl or propylparaben, catechol, resorcinol, cyclohexanol, and 3-pentanol are included.

  In order to ensure isotonicity of the liquid composition of the present invention, an isotonic agent sometimes known as a “stabilizer” may be added, and the tonicity agent may be a polyvalent sugar alcohol, preferably glycerin, Included are trihydric or higher sugar alcohols such as erythritol, arabitol, xylitol, sorbitol and mannitol.

  Stabilizers refer to a broad category of excipients that can span the functional range from bulking agents to additives that solubilize the therapeutic agent or help prevent denaturation or adherence to container walls. Typical stabilizers are polyhydric sugar alcohols (listed above); amino acids such as arginine, lysine, glycine, glutamine, asparagine, histidine, alanine, ornithine, L-leucine, 2-phenylalanine, glutamic acid, threonine, etc. Organic sugars or sugar alcohols similar to these, including cyclitols such as lactose, trehalose, stachyose, mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol, ribitol, myo-inositol, galactitol, glycerol, and inositol; polyethylene glycol; amino acid polymers; Sulfur-containing reducing agents such as glutathione, thioctic acid, sodium thioglycolate, thioglycerol, alpha-monothioglycerol and sodium thiosulfate; low molecular weight polypeptides (ie <10 residues); proteins such as human serum albumin, bovine serum albumin, gelatin or immunoglobulin; hydrophilic polymers such as polyvinylpyrrolidone, monosaccharides such as xylose, mannose, fructose, glucose; lactose, maltose, sucrose Disaccharides such as and trisaccharides such as raffinose; polysaccharides such as dextran. Stabilizers can be included in the range of 0.1 to 10,000 parts by weight based on the weight of active protein.

  Nonionic surfactants or detergents (also known as “wetting agents”) may be added to help solubilize the therapeutic agent and protect the therapeutic protein from agglomeration due to agitation, which can be exposed to It is also possible for the preparation to be scraped off the stressed surface without causing protein denaturation. Suitable nonionic surfactants include polysorbates (20, 80, etc.), polyoxamers (184, 188, etc.), registered Pluronic, polyol, polyoxyethylene sorbitan monoether (registered trademark Tween-20, registered trademark Tween-80). Etc.) are included. Nonionic surfactants can be included in the range of about 0.05 mg / ml to about 1.0 mg / ml, preferably about 0.07 mg / ml to about 0.2 mg / ml.

  Various other excipients include bulking agents (eg starch), chelating agents (eg EDTA), antioxidants (eg ascorbic acid, methionine, vitamin E), and co-solvents. The formulation herein may also include one or more active compounds having complementary activities that are required for the particular indication being treated, preferably which do not adversely affect each other. For example, it may be desirable to further provide an immunosuppressive agent. Such molecules are suitably included in combination in amounts that are effective for the purpose intended. The active ingredients are also colloidal reagent delivery systems in microcapsules prepared, for example, by coacervation technology or interfacial polymerization, such as hydroxymethylcellulose or gelatin microcapsules and poly (methylmethacylate) microcapsules, respectively. It can be encapsulated in (eg, liposomes, albumin microspheres, microemulsions, nanoparticles and nanocapsules) or in macroemulsions. Such techniques are disclosed in Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences, 16th edition, A. Osal, Ed. (1980).

  The formulation used for in vivo administration must be sterile. This is easily done, for example, by filtration through a sterile filtration membrane. Sustained release formulations may be prepared. Suitable examples of sustained release formulations include semi-permeable matrices of solid hydrophobic polymers containing mutated antibodies, wherein the matrix is in the form of shaped articles such as films or microcapsules. Is done. Examples of sustained-release matrices include polyesters, hydrogels (eg, poly (2-hydroxyethyl-methacrylate) or poly (vinyl alcohol)), polylactic acid (US Pat. No. 3,773,919), L-glutamic acid and ethyl-L- Degradable lactic acid-glycolic acid copolymers such as glutamic acid copolymers, non-degradable ethylene vinyl acetate, LUPRON DEPOT® (injectable microspheres composed of lactic acid-glycolic acid copolymer and leuprolide acetate) And poly-D-(-)-3-hydroxybutyric acid. While polymers such as ethylene vinyl acetate and lactic acid-glycolic acid allow molecules to be released for over 100 days, some hydrogels release proteins for shorter periods of time. If the encapsulated antibody remains in the body for a long time, it may be denatured or aggregated as a result of exposure to a humid state at 37 ° C., resulting in various biological changes that can be lost in biological activity and considered immunogenic . Reasonable measures can be taken to stabilize depending on the mechanism involved. For example, if it turns out that the aggregation mechanism is the formation of intermolecular SS bonds through thiodisulfide exchange, the sulfhydryl residue is modified, lyophilized from an acidic solution, the water content is controlled, and appropriate additives Stabilization can be achieved by developing specific polymer matrix compositions using

  The amount of therapeutic polypeptide, antibody or fragment thereof that is effective in the treatment of a particular disorder or condition will depend on the nature of the disorder or condition, and can be determined by standard clinical techniques. If possible, it is desirable to determine a dose-response curve to determine the pharmaceutical composition of the invention first in vitro and then in an animal model system useful prior to human testing.

  In a preferred embodiment, an aqueous solution of therapeutic polypeptide, antibody or fragment thereof is administered by subcutaneous injection. Each dose can range from about 0.5 μg to about 50 μg per kilogram body weight, more preferably from about 3 μg to about 30 μg per kilogram body weight.

  The dosage regimen for subcutaneous administration can vary from once a month to once a day, depending on many clinical factors, including the type of disease, the severity of the disease, and the subject's sensitivity to the therapeutic agent .

Usage of mutant antibody The mutant antibody of the present invention can be used as an affinity purification reagent. In this step, the antibody is immobilized on a solid phase such as SEPHADEX ™ resin or filter paper using methods well known in the art. The immobilized variant antibody is contacted with the sample containing the target to be purified, and then the support is in a suitable solvent that removes substantially all of the material in the sample except the target to be purified bound to the immobilized variant antibody Wash. Finally, the support is washed with another suitable solvent that releases the target from the mutant antibody, such as glycine buffer.

  Variant antibodies can also be useful in diagnostic assays, for example, to detect expression of a target of interest in specific cells, tissues, or serum. For diagnostic applications, the mutant antibody is typically labeled with a detectable moiety. Many signs are available. The technique for quantifying the change in fluorescence is as described above. A chemiluminescent substrate is electronically excited by a chemical reaction and emits light that can be quantified (eg, using a chemiluminometer) or provides energy to a fluorescent acceptor. Examples of enzyme labels include luciferases (eg firefly luciferase and bacterial luciferase; US Pat. No. 4,737,456), luciferin, 2,3-dihydrophthalazinedione, malate dehydrogenase, urease, horseradish peroxidase (HRPO), etc. Peroxidase, alkaline phosphatase, beta-galactosidase, glucoamylase, lysozyme, saccharide oxidase (eg glucose oxidase, galactose oxidase, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase), heterocyclic oxidase (eg uricase and xanthine oxidase), lactoperoxidase, micro Such things as peroxidase are included. O'Sullivan et al., Methods for the Preparation of Enzyme-Antibody Conjugates for Use in Enzyme Immunoassay, in Methods in Enzym. (Ed. J. Langone & H. Van Vunakis), Academic press , New York, 73: 147-166 (1981).

  Sometimes the label is indirectly bound to the mutant antibody. Those skilled in the art will know various techniques for accomplishing this. For example, mutant antibodies can be conjugated with biotin, and any of the three broad categories of labels described above can be conjugated with avidin, and vice versa. Biotin binds selectively to avidin, so that the label can bind to the mutant antibody in an indirect manner. Alternatively, to achieve indirect binding of the mutant antibody to the label, the mutant antibody is combined with a small hapten (eg, digloxin), and one of the different types of labels is an anti-hapten mutant antibody (eg, an anti-digloxin antibody). ). In this way, indirect binding of the mutant antibody and the label can be achieved.

  In other embodiments of the invention, the mutant antibody need not be labeled and its presence can be detected using a labeled antibody that binds to the mutant antibody.

The antibodies of the invention can be used in any known assay, such as competitive binding assays, direct and indirect sandwich assays, and immunoprecipitation assays. Zola, Monoclonal Antibodies: A Manual of Techniques, pp. 147-158 (CRC Press, Inc. 1987).

  Competitive binding assays rely on the ability of a labeled standard to compete with a test sample for binding to a limited amount of mutant antibody. The amount of target in the test sample is inversely proportional to the amount of standard that will bind to the antibody. To facilitate the determination of the amount of standard that will become bound, the antibody is generally insolubilized before or after competition. As a result, the standard and test sample bound to the antibody can be conveniently separated from the standard and test sample remaining unbound.

  The sandwich assay uses two antibodies, each of which binds to and detects a different immunogenic portion, or epitope, or protein. In the sandwich assay, a test sample to be analyzed is bound to a primary antibody immobilized on a solid support, and then a secondary antibody is bound to the test sample to form an insoluble complex composed of three substances. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,376,110. The secondary antibody may itself be labeled with a detectable moiety (direct sandwich assay) or measured using an anti-immunoglobulin antibody labeled with a detectable moiety (indirect sandwich assay). . For example, one type of sandwich assay is an ELISA assay, in which case the detectable component is an enzyme.

  For immunohistochemistry, tumor samples may be fresh or frozen, or may be embedded in paraffin and fixed with a preservative such as formalin, for example.

The antibodies can also be used in in vivo diagnostic assays. In general, mutant antibodies are labeled with radioactive nucleotides (eg ¹¹¹ In, ⁹⁹ Tc, ¹⁴ C, ¹³¹ I, ³ H, ³² P or ³⁵ S) so that immunosynthography can be used to localize the tumor. Is done. For example, the high affinity anti-IgE antibody of the present invention can be used to detect the amount of IgE present in, for example, the lungs of asthmatic patients.

  The antibody of the present invention can be provided in a kit, that is, packaged by combining reagents in a predetermined amount together with instructions for performing a diagnostic assay. Where the mutant antibody is labeled with an enzyme, the kit may include a substrate and cofactor required by the enzyme (eg, a substrate precursor that provides a detectable chromophore or fluorophore). Further, stabilizers, buffers (such as block buffers or lysis buffers) and the like may be included. The relative amounts of the various reagents can vary greatly to provide reagent concentrations in solution that substantially optimize the sensitivity of the assay. In particular, the reagent may be provided as a dry powder, which is usually hydrophilized and may include excipients so that the reagent solution is at an appropriate concentration upon dissolution.

In vivo use of antibodies It is envisioned that the antibodies of the present invention may be used to treat mammals. In one embodiment, the antibody is administered to a non-human mammal, for example to obtain preclinical data. Exemplary non-human mammals to be treated are non-human primates, dogs, cats, rodents, and other mammals for which preclinical studies are conducted. Such mammals can establish an animal model of the disease to be treated with the antibody or can be used to study the toxicity of the antibody of interest. In each of these embodiments, dose escalation studies can be conducted in mammals.

  The antibody or polypeptide may be administered by any suitable means, including parenteral, subcutaneous, intraperitoneal, intrapulmonary, and intranasal, and intralesional administration if local immunosuppressive treatment is desired. Be administered. Parenteral injection includes intramuscular, intravenous, intraarterial, intraperitoneal, or subcutaneous administration. Furthermore, the mutant antibody is suitably administered by pulse infusion, particularly at a reduced mutant antibody dose. Preferably, dosing is done by injection, most preferably by intravenous or subcutaneous injection, depending in part on whether administration is short-term or chronic.

  For the prevention or treatment of disease, the appropriate dose of antibody or polypeptide has been determined in the past depending on the type of disease to be treated, the severity and process of the disease, whether the administration of the mutant antibody is for prevention or treatment. Treatment, the patient's clinical history and response to the mutant antibody, and the judgment of the attending physician. The very high affinity anti-human IgE antibodies of the invention may suitably be administered to a patient at one time or over a series of treatments.

  Depending on the type and severity of the disease, for example, about 0.1 mg / kg to 150 mg / kg (eg 0.1-20 mg / kg), whether administered one or more times separately or continuously infused The first candidate dose to administer the antibody to the patient. Depending on the factors mentioned above, typical daily doses range from about 1 mg / kg to 100 mg / kg or more. For repeated administrations over several days or longer, depending on health status, treatment is continued until the desired suppression of disease symptoms occurs. However, other dosage formulations may be useful. The progress of this therapy is easily monitored by conventional techniques and assays. Exemplary dosage formulations for anti-LFA-1 or anti-ICAM-1 antibodies are disclosed in WO 94/04188.

  The mutant antibody is formulated, dosed and administered in a manner consistent with suitable medical practice. Factors considered in this regard include the particular disorder being treated, the particular mammal being treated, the clinical condition of the individual patient, the cause of the disorder, the site to which the reagent is delivered, the method of administration, the dosage regimen, and Other elements known to the physician are included. The “therapeutically effective amount” of the mutated antibody administered is controlled by such considerations and refers to the minimum amount required for prevention, amelioration, or treatment of a disease or disorder. is there. Variant antibodies are optionally but optionally formulated with one or more drugs that have been used recently to prevent or treat the disorder in question. The effective amount of such other agents depends on the amount of antibody present in the formulation, the type of disorder or treatment, and other factors discussed above. These are generally used at the same dose as described above by the route of administration as used above, or at a dose of 1 to 99% of conventionally used doses.

  The antibodies of the invention that recognize IgE as a target can be used to treat “IgE-mediated diseases”. This disease includes asthma, allergic rhinitis and conjunctivitis (hay fever), eczema, urticaria, atopic dermatitis, and food allergies. Severe physiological conditions of anaphylactic shock caused, for example, by bee stings, snake bites, food or pharmaceuticals are also encompassed within the scope of the present invention.

  The following examples are for illustrative purposes and are not limiting.

Example 1 Humanization of anti-IgE mouse MAb TES-C21 The sequences of the heavy chain variable region (V _H ) and light chain variable region (V _L ) of mouse mAb TES-C21 are available from public databases. Comparison with series sequence. In determining the template as described in Step 1 above, several criteria were used, including overall length, similar CDR positions within the framework, overall homology, CDR size, and the like. Optimal from all of these criteria considered together, as shown in the sequence alignment between the heavy and light chain sequences of TES-C21 MAb and the respective human template sequences, represented in FIGS. 3A and 3B. Results were obtained to select the correct human template.

In this case, one or more human framework templates were used to design this antibody. The human template chosen for the V _H chain was a combination of DP88 (aa residues 1-95) and JH4b (aa residues 103-113) (see FIG. 3B). The human template chosen for the _VL chain was a combination of L16 (VK subgroup III, aa residues 1-87) combined with JK4 (aa residues 98-107) (see FIG. 3A). Framework homology between the mouse sequence and the human template is about 70% V _H, was about 74% at V _L.

Once the template was selected, a Fab library was constructed by DNA synthesis and overlapping PCR as described above and as shown in FIG. The library was composed of synthetic TES-C21 CDRs synthesized with the respective selected human templates, DP88 / JH4b and L16 / JK4. The complexity of the library was 4096 (= 2 ¹² ). Overlapping nucleotides encoding portions of the _VH and _VL sequences were synthesized in the range of about 63 to about 76 nucleotides, including 18-21 nucleotide overlaps.

PCR amplification of the _VL and _VH genes involves biotinylated forward primers containing sequences specific to the framework region FR1 and overlapping sequences that anneal to the ends of the leader sequence (gene III) and conserved constant regions (CK or It was performed under standard PCR conditions using reverse primers derived from CH1). PCR products were purified by agarose gel electrophoresis or by commercial PCR purification kits to remove unincorporated biotinylated primers and non-specific PCR.

For 5 'phosphorylation of PCR products, prepare 2 μg of PCR product, 1 μL of T4 polynucleotide kinase (10 units / μL), 2 μL of 10 × PNK buffer, 1 μL of 10 mM ATP in a total volume of 20 μL with ddH ₂ O. I did it. After incubation at 37 ° C for 45 minutes and heat denaturation at 65 ° C for 10 minutes, the reaction volume was adjusted to 200 µL with ddH ₂ O for the next step.

  100 μL of streptavidin-coated magnetic beads were washed twice with 200 μL of 2 × B & W buffer and resuspended in 200 μL of 2 × B & W buffer. Phosphorylated PCR product was mixed with beads and incubated at room temperature (RT) for 16 minutes with gentle shaking.

  The beads were sedimented and washed twice with 200 μL of 2 × B & W buffer. Non-biotinylated ssDNA (minus strand) was eluted while gently shaking with freshly prepared 0.15M NaOH 300 μL for 10 minutes at RT. A second NaOH elution can slightly increase the yield (optional). The eluate was centrifuged to remove a very small amount of beads.

The ssDNA was precipitated from the supernatant by adding 1 μL of glycogen (10 mg / mL), 1/10 volume of 3M NaOAc (pH 5.2), and 2.5 volumes of EtOH. The precipitated ssDNA was then washed with 70% EtOH, lyophilized for 3 minutes and dissolved in 20 μL ddH ₂ O. The ssDNA was quantified by spotting on ethidium bromide (EtBr) agarose plates with DNA standards or by measuring OD ₂₆₀ .

Cloning hybridization mutagenesis of the V _H and V _L to Example 2 phage expression vector, was cloned V _H and V _L into the phage expression vector. Uridylic of the mold E. coli CJ236 strain (dut ^- ung ^-) was prepared by infecting M13-based phage (phage expression vector TN003).

After maintaining (denaturing) the temperature at 85 ° C for 5 minutes, the following components [200 ng of uridylated phage vector (8.49 kb); 92 ng of phosphorylated single strand are obtained by reducing the temperature to 55 ° C over 1 hour. H chain (489 bases); 100 ng phosphorylated single chain L chain (525 bases); 1 μL of 10 × annealing buffer; prepared in 10 μL with ddH ₂ O] Double the amount). The sample was cooled on ice.

The following components were added to the annealed product: 1.4 μL of 10 × synthesis buffer; 0.5 μL of T4 DNA ligase (1 unit / μL); 1 μL of T4 DNA polymerase (1 unit / μL); Incubated for 1.5 minutes at 37 ° C for 1 hour. The product was ethanol precipitated and dissolved in 10 μL ddH ₂ O or TE.

  The DNA was digested with 1 μL of XbaI (10 units / μL) for 2 hours and heat inactivated at 65 ° C. for 20 minutes. Digested DNA was transfected into 50 μL of electrically competent cell DH10B by electroporation. Titers of reaction-generated phage were measured by growing on XL-1Blue bacterial flora overnight at 37 ° C. The clone was sequenced and the composition confirmed.

Example 3 Deep Well Culture for Library Screening
A. Phage library plating To obtain the desired number of plaques per plate, the phage library was diluted in LB medium. High titer phage was mixed with 200 μL of XL-1B cell culture. 3 mL of LB top agar was mixed, poured onto an LB plate and left at room temperature for 10 minutes. The plates were incubated overnight at 37 ° C.

B. Phage Elution 100 μL of phage elution buffer (10 mM Tris-Cl, pH 7.5, 10 mM EDTA, 100 mM NaCl) was added to each well of a sterile U-bottom 96-well plate. Single phage plaques were transferred from overnight library plates to wells using a filtered pipette tip. The phage elution plate was incubated at 37 ° C. for 1 hour. The plates can be stored at 4 ° C. after incubation.

C. Culture for deep well plates
XL1B cells obtained from 50 mL of culture solution were added to 2 × YT medium at a 1: 100 dilution. The cells were grown at 37 ° C. in a shaker until the A ₆₀₀ was between 0.9 and 1.2.

D. Phage infection in deep wells When cells reached the appropriate OD, 1 M IPTG (1: 2000) was added to the XL1B culture. The final concentration of IPTG was 0.5 mM. 750 μL of cell culture was transferred to each well of a 96 well deep well plate (Fisher Scientific). Each well was incubated with 25 μL of eluted phage. Deep well plates were placed in a shaker (250 rpm) and incubated overnight at 37 ° C.

E. Preparation of supernatant for ELISA screening After incubation, the deep plate was centrifuged at 3,250 rpm for 20 minutes using a Beckman JA-5.3 plate rotor. 50 μL of supernatant was collected from each well for ELISA.

F. Inoculation of XL-1 cell culture solution 15mL
XL-1 was grown at 37 ° C. in a shaker (250 rpm) in 2 × YT containing 10 μg / mL tetracycline until A ₆₀₀ = 0.9-1.2. IPTG was added to a final concentration of 0.5 mM, and 15 mL of the culture was transferred to a 50 mL conical tube for characterization of each clone. The cells were inoculated with 10 μL of phage from a high titer stock (titer = ˜10 ¹¹ pfu / mL) and incubated at 37 ° C. for 1 hour. The cells were grown overnight with shaking at room temperature.

Isolation of soluble Fab from G. periplasm The cells were pelleted by centrifugation in an IEC centrifuge at 4,500 rpm for 20 minutes. The culture medium was removed and the pellet was resuspended in 650 μL of resuspension buffer (50 mM Tris containing 1 mM EDTA, pH 8.0 and 500 mM sucrose), vortexed and placed on ice for 1 hour with gentle shaking. Cell debris was removed by centrifugation at 9,000 rpm for 10 minutes at 4 ° C. The supernatant containing soluble Fab was collected and stored at 4 ° C.

Example 4 Framework Modification Twelve mouse / human fluctuation residues were present within the framework of the potentially important sites described above. Site 73 in _VH maintained the murine residue threonine in the humanized library. This is because this site was determined to affect binding. However, threonine in VH73 is already known to be a common human residue in human germline _VH subgroups 1 and 2.

Framework residues that differ between the TES-C21 sequence and the human template were randomly substituted as described above, and then their potential impact on target binding and antibody folding was evaluated. Potential framework residues that may have affected binding were identified. In this case, they were 1, 3, 4, 49, 60, 85 th residues 12, 27, 43, 48, 67, 69 th residue, and in V _L in V _H ( Kabat's number system). (See FIG. 4) It was later demonstrated that only the 27th and 69th sites in the _VH region significantly affect binding (clone number 1136-2C).

  The primary screening performed was a single point ELISA (SPE) using culture medium (see description below). Clones that bind to the antibody target molecule were selected by primary screening. Clones with a signal equal to or stronger than the parent molecule were selected for subsequent screening.

  In the second screening, individual phage were grown in 15 ml bacterial culture and periplasmic specimens were used for SPE and ELISA titer assays. Further characterization of clones that retained high binding in this assay was performed. Once all initial selection clones were processed, the top 10-15% clones were sequenced and the clones were arranged according to sequence. A representative example of each sequence group was compared with each other and the best clone was selected. The sequences from these selected clones were combined to evaluate the effects of various combinations.

  The constructed library was subjected to ELISA screening and selected for improved binding to recombinant human IgE and SE44. Clones with stronger binding affinity than mouse TES-C21 Fab were identified and sequenced. Clone ID numbers 4, 49, 72, 76, and 136 were further characterized. ELISA titer curves for clones 4, 49, 72, 78, and 136 are shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. These figures show that the affinity of these clones is similar to the parent TES-C21. These clones compete with mouse TES-C21 for binding to human IgE, indicating that the binding epitope was not altered during the humanization process. Humanized Fabs do not bind to FcεRI-bound IgE, indicating that when bivalent IgG is constructed from these, the humanized antibody is less likely to crosslink the receptor causing histamine release. Show.

Humanized clone 136 carries 5 mouse heavy chain framework residues (94.3% homology with human _VH framework) and 100% human light chain framework selected by affinity maturation. Had. Inhibition of IgE binding to FcεRI by humanized Fab was demonstrated (FIG. 6).

Example 5 Single Point ELISA Protocol for Screening for Anti-IgE Plates were coated overnight at 4 ° C. with 2 μg / mL sheep anti-human Fd dissolved in carbonate coating buffer. The coating solution was removed and the plate was blocked with 200 μL / well 3% BSA / PBS for 1 hour at 37 ° C. The plate was washed 4 times with PBS / 0.1% TWEEN® (PBST) and 50 μL / well of Fab sample (ie supernatant containing high titer phage and secreted Fab or periplasmic specimen from DMB block, Or 15 mL specimen). Plates were incubated for 1 hour at room temperature and washed 4 times with PBST. Next, 50 μL / well of biotinylated SE44 diluted to 0.015 μg / mL in 0.5% BSA / PBS and 0.05% TWEEN® was added. The plates were then incubated for 2 hours at room temperature and washed 4 times with PBST. Streptavidin HRP diluted 1: 2000 in 0.5% BSA / PBS and 0.05% TWEEN® was added at 50 μL / well and the plate was incubated at room temperature for 1 hour. The plate was washed 6 times with PBST. Color was developed by adding 50 μL / well of TMB substrate (sigma) and then stopped by adding 50 μL / well of 0.2 MH ₂ SO ₄ .

Example 6 ELISA titer measurement: anti-IgE
Plates were coated overnight at 4 ° C. with 0.25 μg / mL of SE44 dissolved in carbonate coating buffer (relative to purified Fab 0.1 μg / mL). The coating solution was removed and the plate was blocked with 200 μL / well 3% BSA / PBS for 1 hour at 37 ° C.

  The plate was washed 4 times with PBS / 0.1% TWEEN® (PBST). 50 μL / well of a diluted Fab (derived from a 15 mL periplasmic specimen) diluted serially from 1: 2 to 3-fold dilution with 0.5% BSA / PBS and 0.05% TWEEN® 20 was added. The plate was incubated at room temperature for 2 hours.

  The plate was washed 4 times with PBST and biotin-sheep anti-human Fd dilution diluted 1: 1000 (0.8 μg / ml) in 0.5% BSA / PBS and 0.05% TWEEN® 20 was added at 50 μL / well. did. Plates were again incubated at room temperature for 2 hours.

  After washing 4 times with PBST, Neutra-avidin-AP (0.9 μg / mL) diluted 1: 2000 in 0.5% BSA / PBS and 0.05% TWEEN® 20 was added at 50 μL / well, and the plate was brought to room temperature. And incubated for 1 hour.

  The plate was washed 4 times with PBST. Color was developed by adding 50 μL / well of pNPP substrate. Color development was stopped by adding 50 μL / well of 3M NaOH. The absorbance of each well at 405 nm or 410 nm was measured.

Example 7 Protocol for affinity purification of soluble Fab expressed from M13 phage
First day
Two 500 mL culture solutions (2 × YT) containing 10 mg / mL tetracycline were inoculated with 5 mL overnight stock XL1B and grown at 37 ° C. until A600 = 0.9-1.2. IPTG was added at a concentration of 0.5 mM. Each cell culture solution was infected with 200 μL of phage and cultured with shaking at 37 ° C. for 1 hour. The cells were then grown by shaking overnight at 25 ° C.

the 2nd day
The cells were precipitated by centrifugation at 3500 × g for 30 minutes at 4 ° C. using a 250 mL centrifuge tube. The culture medium was aspirated and the pellet was resuspended in a total volume of 12-15 mL of lysis buffer (Buffer A + Protease Inhibitor Cocktail).

Buffer A: (1 liter)
50 mM NaH ₂ PO ₄ 6.9 g NaH ₂ PO ₄ H ₂ O (or 6 g NaH ₂ PO ₄ )
300 mM NaCl 17.54 g NaCl
10 mM Imidazole 0.68 g Imidazole (MW 68.08)
Adjust pH to 8.0 with NaOH Lysis buffer:
Mix 25mL of Buffer A with 1 tablet of Complete Protease Inhibitor Cocktail (Roche, Basel, Switzerland)

  The resuspended cells were transferred to a 50 mL conical tube, 100 μL of 100 mg / mL lysozyme was added, and the tube was inverted several times until the mixture became agglomerated and moved (due to lysis). Cells were sonicated on ice, 10 μL of DNase I (about 1000 units) was added, and gently shaken at 4 ° C. for 30 minutes. Centrifugation was performed at 12000 × g for 30 minutes at 4 ° C. using a 50 mL centrifuge tube to precipitate small pieces. The supernatant was transferred to a new conical tube and stored at 4 ° C.

Soluble Fabs were purified using Ni-NT agarose (Qiagen, Valencis, CA) according to the manufacturer's protocol. The lysate was mixed with Ni-NTA and poured onto the column. The effluent was collected for SDS-PAGE analysis. The column was washed with 20 mL buffer (50 mM NaH ₂ PO ₄ , 300 mM NaCl, 15 mM imidazole, adjusted to pH 8.0 with NaOH) and then with 20 mL 50 mM NaH ₂ PO ₄ , 300 mM NaCl, 20 mM imidazole. Fab was eluted with 6 × 500 μL of elution buffer (50 mM NaH ₂ PO ₄ , 300 mM NaCl, 450 mM imidazole, adjusted to pH 8.0 with NaOH) and analyzed by SDS-PAGE. Column fractions were stored at 4 ° C. The column fraction was analyzed by SDS-PAGE, and the fraction containing the largest amount of Fab was selected and dialyzed at 4 ° C. in PBS.

Example 8 Soluble Receptor Assay
A 96-well assay plate suitable for ELISA was coated with 0.05 mL of 0.5 μg / mL FcεRI alpha chain receptor coating buffer (50 mM bicarbonate / bicarbonate, pH 9.6) at 4-8 ° C. for 12 hours. The wells were aspirated and 250 μL blocking buffer (PBS, 1% BSA, pH 7.2) was added and incubated at 37 ° C. for 1 hour. Using separate assay plates, titer 200-0.001 μg / mL of sample and reference TES-C21 MAb 1: 4 with assay buffer (0.5% BSA and 0.05% Tween 20, PBS, pH 7.2). Diluted and measured, an equal volume of 100 ng / mL biotinylated IgE was added and the plates were incubated at 25 ° C. for 2-3 hours. Wells coated with FcεRI were washed 3 times with PBS and 0.05% TWEEN 20, and 50 μL from the sample well was transferred to the well and incubated at 25 ° C. for 30 minutes with rocking. 50 μL / well of 1 mg / mL streptavidin-HRP diluted 1: 2000 in assay buffer was added and incubated for 30 minutes with rocking, then the plates were washed as described above. Color was developed by adding 50 μL / well of TMB substrate. The reaction was stopped by adding an equal amount of 0.2MH ₂ SO ₄ and the absorbance at 450 nm was measured.

Example 9 Antibody Binding to FcεRI Associated with IgE
Antibody binding to human IgE associated with the alpha-subunit of FcεRI was determined by preincubation with 10 μg / mL human IgE for 30 minutes at 4 ° C. Plates were washed 3 times and incubated for 1 hour with either various concentrations of mouse anti-human IgE mAb E-10-10 or humanized Fab variants. Fab binding was detected with a biotin-labeled anti-human Fd antibody, followed by SA-HRP. Mouse ab E10-10 was detected by goat anti-mouse Ig Fc HRP-conjugated Ab.

Example 10 Characterization of clones Each candidate was analyzed for binding affinity and positive clones were sequenced. Mutant antibodies with beneficial mutations in the CDR that lead to increased binding affinity were further characterized. Assays include Biacore analysis; inhibition of binding of IgE to the receptor; and cross-linking of the receptor bound to IgE.

  A library of mutants was generated. The amino acid sequences of various CDRs that showed improved affinity are shown in Table 1. FIG. 7 represents a high affinity candidate with a combination of substitutions.

  Nineteen heavy chain variants are shown in FIG. 9, and 35 light chain variants are shown in FIG. Three candidates were further characterized for binding affinity. The results are shown in Table 2.

Example 11 Expression and purification of anti-IgE antibody and binding to HRP A high affinity MAb candidate was prepared. To create intact anti-IgE MAbs, the heavy and light chain variable regions were PCR amplified from phage vector templates and subcloned separately under the CMV promoter into H and L chain expression vectors. Six total antibody clones were constructed. This is shown in FIGS. The appropriate heavy and light chain plasmids were co-transfected into the mouse myeloma cell line NSO using electroporation by techniques well known in the art. See, for example, Liou et al. J Immunol. 143 (12): 3967-75 (1989). The antibody was purified from a single stable cell line supernatant using protein A-Sepharose (Pharmacia). Antibody concentration was determined using a spectrophotometer at 280 nm and using FCA assay (IDEXX).

  Purified antibody was conjugated with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) using a peroxidase conjugation kit (Zymed Labs, San Francisco, CA) according to the manufacturer's protocol. The titer of each bound anti-IgE MAb was determined by ELISA using plates coated with monoclonal human IgE (SE44).

  The following cultures were deposited with the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) at Boulevard University 10801 20110-2209 Manassas, Virginia, USA:

  This deposit was made in accordance with the provisions of the Budapest Treaty on International Approval of Deposits of Microorganisms in Patent Procedures and Regulations Based on the Treaty (Budapest Treaty). This guarantees maintenance of the live culture for 30 years from the date of deposit. The microorganism is made available by the ATCC under the terms of the Budapest Treaty, and it is guaranteed that its progeny will be made available to the public in a permanent and unrestricted manner based on the validity of the relevant US patent.

  The trustee of this application agrees that if the deposited culture is killed, lost or destroyed when cultured under appropriate conditions, it will be promptly replaced with a live specimen of the culture upon notification. Yes. The availability of deposited shares does not imply that under any authority of the government, it is permitted to carry out the invention in violation of the rights granted in accordance with the government's patent law.

  According to the above specification, it is considered that those skilled in the art can fully practice the invention. The deposited embodiments are intended to illustrate one aspect of the invention, and the invention is not limited to the scope of the deposited culture, and any functionally equivalent culture is within the scope of the invention. Is included. The deposit of material herein constitutes recognition that the detailed description provided herein is not appropriate to enable any aspect of the invention, including the best mode of the invention, to be practiced. Neither is it intended to be construed as limiting the scope of the claims to the specific examples shown herein. Indeed, in addition to those described herein, various modifications of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing detailed description, and they will be encompassed by the appended claims.

  Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many ways equivalent to the specific embodiments of the invention described herein. Such equivalent methods are intended to be encompassed by the following claims.

It is a schematic diagram of a phage vector used for antibody cloning and screening. 1 is a schematic diagram of oligonucleotides useful for producing mutant antibodies. FIG. It is a comparison figure of the light chain of mouse | mouth anti- IgE antibody TES-C21, and the human template which couple | bonded L16 and JK4. It is a comparison figure of the human template which couple | bonded the heavy chain of TES-C21, and DP88 and JH4b. FIG. 5 is a table of framework residue variants with high affinity compared to the parent TES-C21. It is the figure which showed the ELISA titer curve of clone 4, 49, 72, 78, and 136 compared with parent TES-C21 Fab and negative control (5D12). FIG. 4 shows inhibition assays of clones 2C, 5A, and 5I compared to parent TES-C21 and negative control antibody. The sequence of a clone with a beneficial mutation combination that resulted in increased affinity for IgE is shown. The entire light chain variable region framework sequence for clones 136, 1, 2, 4, 8, 13, 15, 21, 30, 31, 35, 43, 44, 53, 81, 90, and 113 are shown. The framework sequence of the entire heavy chain variable region for 35 clones is shown. The complete heavy and light chain sequences for clones 136, 2C, 5I, 5A, 2B, and 1136-2C are shown.

Claims (55)

  Formula: FRL1-CDRL1-FRL2-CDRL2-FRL3-CDRL3-FRL4, FRL1 consists of any one of SEQ ID NOs: 30-37; CDRL1 is any one of SEQ ID NOs: 5-7 FRL2 consists of any one of SEQ ID NOs: 38-39; CDRL2 consists of any one of SEQ ID NOs: 8-12; FRL3 any one of SEQ ID NOs: 40-43 A light chain variable region comprising an amino acid sequence comprising: CDRL3 comprising any one of SEQ ID NOS: 13-14; FRL4 comprising SEQ ID NO: 44.   2. The light chain variable region according to claim 1, comprising any one of SEQ ID NOs: 57, 61, 63, 65, 67 and 69.   2. The light chain variable region of claim 1, further comprising a constant region.   4. The light chain variable region of claim 3, wherein the constant region has SEQ ID NO: 58.   The light chain variable region of claim 2, further comprising a constant region.   6. The light chain variable region of claim 5, wherein the constant region has SEQ ID NO: 58.   2. The light chain variable region of claim 1, further comprising a signal peptide.   8. The light chain variable region of claim 7, wherein the signal peptide has SEQ ID NO: 56.   Formula: FRH1-CDRH1-FRH2-CDRH2-FRH3-CDRH3-FRH4, FRH1 consists of any one of SEQ ID NOs: 45-46; CDRH1 is any one of SEQ ID NOs: 15-17 FRH2 consists of any one of SEQ ID NOs: 47-50; CDRH2 consists of any one of SEQ ID NOs: 18-25; FRH3 any one of SEQ ID NOs: 51-54 A heavy chain variable region comprising an amino acid sequence comprising CDRRH3 comprising any one of SEQ ID NOs: 26-29; FRH4 comprising SEQ ID NO: 55.   The heavy chain variable region according to claim 9, comprising any one of SEQ ID NOs: 59, 62, 64, 66, 68 and 70.   8. The heavy chain variable region according to claim 7, further comprising at least a CH1 domain of the constant region.   12. The heavy chain variable region of claim 11, comprising the CH1, CH2 and CH3 domains of the constant region.   12. The heavy chain variable region according to claim 11, wherein the constant region is derived from an IgG antibody.   14. The heavy chain variable region according to claim 13, wherein the IgG antibody is an IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, or IgG4 antibody.   14. The heavy chain variable region of claim 13, wherein the constant region has SEQ ID NO: 60.   The heavy chain variable region of claim 10, further comprising a constant region.   17. The heavy chain variable region of claim 16, wherein the constant region has SEQ ID NO: 60.   The heavy chain variable region according to claim 9, further comprising a signal peptide.   20. The heavy chain variable region of claim 19, wherein the signal peptide has SEQ ID NO: 56.   An antibody or antibody fragment comprising the light chain variable region according to claim 1 and specifically binding to IgE.   10. An antibody or antibody fragment comprising the heavy chain variable region according to claim 9 and specifically binding to IgE.   21. The antibody of claim 20, comprising the heavy chain region of claim 9.   23. The antibody of claim 22, comprising a light chain variable region having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 57 and a heavy chain variable region having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 59.   24. The antibody of claim 23, further comprising a light chain constant region and a heavy chain constant region.   25. The antibody of claim 24, wherein the light chain constant region has the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 58, and the heavy chain constant region has the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 60.   23. The antibody of claim 22, comprising a light chain variable region having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 61 and a heavy chain variable region having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 62.   27. The antibody of claim 26, further comprising a light chain constant region and a heavy chain constant region.   28. The antibody of claim 27, wherein the light chain constant region has the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 58, and the heavy chain constant region has the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 60.   27. The antibody of claim 26, produced by a cell having ATCC deposit number PTA-5678.   23. The antibody of claim 22, comprising a light chain variable region having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 63 and a heavy chain variable region having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 64.   32. The antibody of claim 30, further comprising a light chain constant region and a heavy chain constant region.   32. The antibody of claim 31, wherein the light chain constant region has the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 58, and the heavy chain constant region has the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 60.   32. The antibody of claim 30, wherein the antibody is produced by a cell having ATCC deposit number PTA-5680.   23. The antibody of claim 22, comprising a light chain variable region having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 65 and a heavy chain variable region having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 66.   35. The antibody of claim 34, further comprising a light chain constant region and a heavy chain constant region.   36. The antibody of claim 35, wherein the light chain constant region has the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 58, and the heavy chain constant region has the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 60.   35. The antibody of claim 34, produced by a cell having ATCC deposit number PTA-5679.   23. The antibody of claim 22, comprising a light chain variable region having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 67 and a heavy chain variable region having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 68.   39. The antibody of claim 38, further comprising a light chain constant region and a heavy chain constant region.   40. The antibody of claim 39, wherein the light chain constant region has the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 58, and the heavy chain constant region has the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 60.   23. The antibody of claim 22, comprising a light chain variable region having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 69 and a heavy chain variable region having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 70.   42. The antibody of claim 41, further comprising a light chain constant region and a heavy chain constant region.   43. The antibody of claim 42, wherein the light chain constant region has the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 58, and the heavy chain constant region has the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 60.   A composition comprising a therapeutically effective amount of the antibody of claim 20 or 21 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.   22. The antibody according to claim 20 or 21, further bound with a label.   A diagnostic kit comprising the antibody according to claim 20 or 21.   23. A vector comprising a nucleic acid encoding the antibody of claim 22.   48. A cell comprising the vector of claim 47.   49. The cell of claim 48, wherein the cell is ATCC Deposit Number PTA-5678, PTA-5679 or PTA-5680.   49. A method for producing an antibody comprising culturing the cell of claim 48 under conditions suitable for production of the antibody, and isolating the produced antibody.   23. A method for measuring IgE levels in a subject, wherein the subject's sample, which is a sample containing IgE molecules, is contacted with the antibody of claim 22; and the level of antibody retention by the sample is controlled by a control subject. Determining that the level of antibody retention by the subject's sample relative to the control sample is higher or lower than the control subject, the subject having a higher or lower level of IgE molecules than the control subject. A method that shows that   23. A method for diagnosing a disease associated with abnormal levels of IgE in a subject, wherein the sample of the subject, which is a sample containing IgE molecules, is contacted with the antibody of claim 22; and the retention of the antibody by the sample A disease associated with an abnormal level of IgE when the level of antibody retention by the subject sample relative to the control sample is high or low, comprising determining the level relative to a control subject control sample A method that is indicative of having   53. The method of claim 52, wherein the disease associated with abnormal levels of IgE is asthma, allergic rhinitis, eczema, urticaria, or atopic dermatitis.   23. A method for treating a disease associated with abnormally high IgE levels in a subject, wherein the subject is administered a therapeutically effective amount such that the disease is treated in the subject. A method involving that. 55. The method of claim 54, wherein the disease is asthma, allergic rhinitis, eczema, urticaria, atopic dermatitis, or food allergy.

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